Greek Debt Crisis

About Greek Debt Crisis

A sovereign debt crisis that threatened the eurozone. In October 2009, Greece revealed its budget deficit was 12.7 percent of GDP, far above EU limits. Greece could not devalue its currency because of the euro. The EU and IMF imposed harsh austerity in exchange for bailouts totaling 289 billion euros. Greek GDP fell 25 percent. Unemployment reached 27 percent. Youth unemployment exceeded 60 percent. The crisis nearly caused Greece to leave the euro. The economic and social damage was enormous. Greece did not return to economic growth until 2017 and did not exit bailout programs until 2018.